


Quests

by leporidae



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M, it's literally just a drabble about them meeting through an MMORPG, mmorpg au, what else do I even tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5459561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leporidae/pseuds/leporidae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even if we haven't technically met, can we still be friends?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quests

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kotaka_kun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotaka_kun/gifts).



> Part two of five. Like the last drabble, this one also pretty much goes nowhere. I'm on a roll.
> 
> This is also a ship I haven't written before.

"Kuroko - shit! Hurry it up, use that power of yours already!"

"Please be patient and keep your voice down, Kagami-kun. I'm on it."

Kagami adjusts his headset impatiently with his left hand, the fingers on his right aggressively mashing buttons on the controller. His HP is running a bit low, and the onslaught of monsters on the screen doesn't seem to be thinning; if it wasn't for his high attack stat, there would be no way he'd still be hanging on. But he's running out of both health and restorative items, and a distraction is in order.

He'd first met Kuroko several months earlier when deciding to impulsively take on a quest too difficult for his inexperienced avatar to handle alone. It had been a late night decision, fueled by both excessive consumption of sugary sports drinks and a whole lot of boredom. The mission was to storm a castle, eliminate the low level NPC goons, and take on the final boss, an ill-mannered, corrupted king who guarded an item Kagami coveted: the only set of armor in the game that gave the wearer resistance to fire. Many of the more challenging areas on the world map were situated in a valley of volcanoes, and many unprepared players had experienced game overs simply because untreated burns - a rather pesky status condition that could only be treated with certain rare items - had whittled away their health. Kagami was determined not to fall into the same trap.

Instead, he had fallen into the trap of overestimating his own abilities. There he was, trapped in a room in the castle – the exit door protected by a barrier that would only drop once all the enemies were defeated – without any way to heal himself. Getting a game over meant he would lose not only the EXP he had collected on the mission, but all his stats would drop by several points. In the land of the increasingly popular MMORPG _Kiseki,_ this was a fate to be avoided at all costs. Though it was fairly easy to build up EXP by repeatedly fighting low level monsters in boring grassland areas, it often took months to make any sort of significant improvement to an avatar’s stats and natural attributes. When randomizing his stats upon his character’s creation, Kagami had been lucky to create a combat-ready avatar with unusually high attack and an ample amount of HP, and he didn’t want his good fortune to go to waste.

In the midst of his desperation, Kuroko had appeared.

At first, Kagami wasn’t sure how such a weak avatar had managed to make it that far on his own. Kuroko’s attack, defense, and HP were all abysmal, leaving him easy prey for even the lowest level NPCs. But when the monsters in the room began to drop before his eyes, struck down by the invisible hand of the otherwise unassuming person before him, he realized he had stumbled upon an avatar whose traits were perfectly complimentary to his own: not a fighter, but a fragile yet deadly mage. 

Once the room was cleared of monsters and Kagami and the other boy had exchanged user data by adding each other to their respective friend lists, he could see that Kuroko possessed a magic stat more extraordinary than anything he had seen from any other player, even the much higher leveled avatars he had encountered.

Kuroko’s most unique ability was an invisibility spell that masked his presence not only from NPCs, but from other players as well. Most spells of that sort only worked on one or the other, so to have such a versatile ability was rare even for a mage character. It was a stark contrast to Kagami’s own combat style, which mostly consisted of relying on brute force to get the job done. Stealth had never been his strong suit, much as strength had never been Kuroko’s. But for that reason they had quickly discovered the merits of working together. Since then, the two players had teamed up on countless missions, forming a veritable duo that could complete practically any quest with ease.

With Kuroko’s help, Kagami had won the armor he had yearned for. When he offered it to the weaker boy as a reward for his help, Kuroko had politely declined, stating that such a heavy defensive suit would only serve to further reduce the speed of his already slow avatar. Instead he had asked that Kagami don the armor and in return shield him from any fire spells, a request which Kagami had accepted without a second thought.

Ever since that incident, the two were an inseparable pair. Kagami and Kuroko coordinated their log in times to complete quests, compete in colosseum battles, and simply talk to one another. The two were both high school students living in Tokyo, and while Kagami wanted them to meet up, Kuroko confessed that he felt more comfortable with anonymity and that he was not always the most vibrant individual in person.

“I don’t want Kagami-kun to be disappointed with me.”

“Of course I wouldn’t be, idiot! We’re partners – _friends_. We’ll get along no matter how you are, I know it.”

But Kuroko still wouldn’t budge on the matter. Kagami was convinced, however, that eventually he’d manage to break down the other’s barriers and get him to agree to a meeting.

There’s a notification buzzing on his screen which jolts his wandering thoughts back to the present, and Kagami can see that Kuroko has activated his invisibility spell. As per usual, the NPCs they had been fighting all look visibly confused that one of their targets has utterly vanished. Kagami takes this opportunity to punch out a few more of them, while Kuroko disposes of the rest by coming up behind them and silently slitting their necks with his enchanted blade. It’s only a matter of minutes until the area is clear and the two avatars have reaped their reward of money and EXP.

“Took you long enough,” Kagami teases once the spell has worn off and he can see his partner again.

“It takes quite a while to prepare the spell, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says in a steady voice, as usual ignoring the other’s joke.

Kagami grins, though obviously Kuroko can’t see him. There’s something awfully endearing about the other’s complete lack of a sense of humor. “Yeah, I know, I know.” He glances away from the screen for a moment and out the window, surprised to find there are still traces of light filtering in from outside. “We made good time today, didn’t we? I thought that quest would’ve taken us another thirty minutes at least.”

“Yes, we’re getting more efficient,” Kuroko agrees. “Which is good – completing quests more quickly gives me more time to read at night.”

“More boring historical fiction?”

“Yes.” A pause. “You really should consider reading as a pastime, Kagami-kun. It’s very relaxing.”

“Hah? You saying I need to relax or something?” Kagami’s not actually offended. They’ve had this conversation before, and Kagami had confessed that he has a hard time focusing on any written text that isn’t part of a sports magazine or shounen manga. Surprisingly, Kuroko hadn’t seemed to judge him that harshly for being uncultured, though he was not above teasing him about the matter.

He can almost hear the smile in the other’s voice. “Perhaps a little.”

Kagami smirks. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So – when are you and I gonna get to grab a bite together? At Maji Burger?” As usual, there’s a long silence on Kuroko’s end. This happens every time Kagami suggests that the two of them meet – which, as of late, he’s been doing after every quest they finish. Kagami expects to be rejected as usual, and reflexively his hand reaches up to adjust his headset again, a tic he has developed to cope with his gaming partner’s often unnerving silences. Almost five minutes pass before Kagami clears his throat. “Listen, if you still don’t wanna –”

“How about Saturday of this weekend?”

“Eh?”

Kagami isn’t sure he’d heard right. “This weekend – you mean, like, meeting up? This weekend. In person. As in a couple days from now.”

“Yes.”

Kuroko’s never agreed to meeting up with him before; Kagami feels as if he’s entered an alternate dimension. “You’re not messing with me, are you?”

“I don’t joke around, Kagami-kun. You should know that by now.”

Kagami stares at his screen, expecting any moment that an error message will pop up telling him that the other’s account has been hacked. But the voice coming through his headset is still, undeniably, Kuroko’s. “…Are you sick?”

“I’m perfectly healthy.”

_As usual, no sense of humor._

“Then –”

“Kagami-kun.” Kuroko’s voice has an edge to it that Kagami has never heard before, and he shuts his mouth, prepared to listen to whatever the other has to say. “I’ve been thinking, about what you said before. About us being… _friends_. To tell you the truth, I didn’t believe you at first.” Kagami hears a slightly sheepish cough from the other end of the line. “All my life, I’ve been… forgettable. My friends from junior high don’t talk to me anymore, and I feared it would be the same with you. But you’ve stuck with me for this long, made me a part of your _team_ , if you will. For that reason, I’m willing to give you a chance.” He inhales slightly. “I trust you.”

For a moment, Kagami doesn’t know what to say. Kuroko has opened up to him before, but never quite to this extent. Once his words sink in fully, however, Kagami’s grin only widens. “Idiot. As if I’d forget you – you’re the most memorable person I’ve ever known.”

Kuroko laughs softly. “Saying that makes _you_ the idiot.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Kagami laughs as well. 

“You would.” A pause. “I really am going to log off for now, though. My 'boring historical fiction' calls.” 

Kagami shrugs, though he’s still aware the other can’t see him. “All right, sure, whatever. …So, what time on Saturday?” 

There’s a lull, then: “How about noon?” 

“Noon it is.” Kagami feels positively giddy. “I’ll see you then. 

“Yes…” Kuroko’s voice still has a tinge of uncertainty to it. “I’ll see you, Kagami-kun.” And with that, his avatar logs off, leaving Kagami alone in his room. There’s no reason for him to stay online without Kuroko, so he shrugs off his headset and signs off as well, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the ceiling with wonder. 

And for that matter, anticipation. 

_Saturday can’t come fast enough._


End file.
